Optimized Content Delivery

ABSTRACT

Data (e.g., images, video, data fields, character strings, logos, etc.) may be analyzed to identify common elements and differentiating elements, and the elements may be respectively transmitted using different streams. For example, if two devices are receiving two video images that are nearly the same, a first data stream comprising the one or more identified common elements may be sent to them both, a second data stream comprising a portion of the one or more identified differentiating elements may be transmitted to the first device, and a third data stream comprising a different portion of the one or more identified differentiating elements may be transmitted to the second device.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S.application Ser. No. 16/460,587, filed Jul. 2, 2019, which is acontinuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 15/424,233, filed Feb. 3, 2017and now U.S. Pat. No. 10,390,054, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 13/784,163, filed Mar. 4, 2013 and now U.S. Pat.No. 9,602,848, which are incorporated herein by reference in theirentirety.

BACKGROUND

Delivery of digital images and other content consumes network resources(e.g., bandwidth). Because such resources are limited, there remains anever-present need to conserve network resources, especially whendelivering resource-intensive visual images.

SUMMARY

In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosure, data (e.g.,images, video, data fields, character strings, logos, etc.) may beanalyzed to identify common elements and differentiating elements, andthe elements may be respectively transmitted using different streams.For example, if two devices are receiving two video images that arenearly the same, a first data stream comprising the one or moreidentified common elements may be sent to them both, a second datastream comprising a portion of the one or more identifieddifferentiating elements may be transmitted to the first device, and athird data stream comprising a different portion of the one or moreidentified differentiating elements may be transmitted to the seconddevice.

In some embodiments, the first data stream, the second data stream, andthe third data stream may comprise elementary streams of a MovingPicture Experts Group Transport Stream (MPEG-TS). In such embodiments,communicating the first data stream to the first and second device,communicating the second data stream to the first device, andcommunicating the third data stream to the second device, may comprisecommunicating the MPEG-TS to the first device and the second device. TheMPEG-TS may include a Program Map Table (PMT), which may include aplurality of Packet Identifiers (PIDs). A first of the PIDs may identifythe first data stream. A second of the PIDs may identify the second datastream. A third of the PIDs may identify the third data stream. In someembodiments, the second of the PIDs may comprise an account identifierassociated with the first device, an Internet Protocol (IP) addressassociated with the first device, and/or a Media Access Control (MAC)address associated with the first device. Additionally or alternatively,the third of the PIDs may comprise an account identifier associated withthe second device, an IP address associated with the second device,and/or a MAC address associated with the second device.

In some embodiments, the first device may receive the first data streamand the second data stream. The first device may combine images fromthese streams to render an image comprising the identified one or morecommon elements and the portion of the identified one or moredifferentiating elements associated with the data received by the firstdevice. Additionally or alternatively, the second device may receive thefirst data stream and the third data stream. The second device maycombine portions or characteristics of the images from these streams andrender an image comprising the identified one or more common elementsand the portion of the identified one or more differentiating elementsassociated with the second device.

In some embodiments, a determination may be made as to whether the oneor more common elements comprise a threshold proportion of the pluralityof images, and the first data stream, second data stream, and third datastream may be generated responsive to determining that the one or morecommon elements comprise the threshold proportion of the plurality ofimages. In some embodiments, the threshold proportion may be determinedbased on a total number of the plurality of images.

In some embodiments, the first data stream may comprise one or moreI-frames, and the second and third data streams may comprise one or moreP-frames and/or one or more B-frames. The first device may receive thefirst data stream and the second data stream, and may render an imagecomprising the one or more common elements and the portion of the one ormore differentiating elements associated with the first device byaltering one or more images specified by the one or more I-frames asspecified by the one or more P-frames and/or the one or more B-frames.Additionally or alternatively, the second device may receive the firstdata stream and the third data stream, and may render an imagecomprising the one or more common elements and the portion of the one ormore differentiating elements associated with the second device byaltering one or more images specified by the one or more I-frames asspecified by the one or more P-frames and/or the one or more B-frames.

In some embodiments, each of the plurality of images may comprise a UserInterface (UI), such as a menu (e.g., a social media service interface),program listing, or other display. In an example of a program listing,the one or more common elements of the plurality of images may compriseone or more of a background image, a component image, a logo, and/or aborder seen by multiple users accessing the program listing, and the oneor more differentiating elements of the plurality of images may compriseone or more elements of the portion of the program listing that aparticular user is viewing (e.g., if one viewer is viewing listings forchannels 15-20).

In accordance with one or more additional aspects of the disclosure, afirst UI associated with a first device and a second UI associated witha second device may be generated. One or more common elements shared bythe first UI and the second UI may be identified. An image comprisingthe identified one or more common elements shared by the first UI andthe second UI may be generated. The generated image comprising theidentified one or more common elements shared by the first UI and secondUI may be communicated to the first device and the second device.

In some embodiments, the one or more elements of the first UI thatdistinguish the first UI from the second UI may be communicated to thefirst device, and the one or more elements of the second UI thatdistinguish the second UI from the first UI may be communicated to thesecond device. The various devices may receive a custom streamcontaining the visual elements that are unique to them, and a commonstream containing visual elements that are common to a plurality ofdevices.

In some embodiments, the first device may receive one stream comprisingthe one or more common elements shared by the first UI and the secondUI, and another stream comprising the one or more elements of the firstUI that distinguish the first UI from the second UI. The first devicemay render the first UI using the image comprising the one or morecommon elements and the one or more elements of the first UI thatdistinguish the first UI from the second UI.

In some embodiments, the second device may receive the image comprisingthe one or more common elements shared by the first UI and the secondUI, and the one or more elements of the second UI that distinguish thesecond UI from the first UI. The second device may render the second UIusing the image comprising the one or more common elements and the oneor more elements of the second UI that distinguish the second UI fromthe first UI.

In accordance with one or more further aspects of the disclosure, anapparatus comprising at least one processor and a memory may beprovided. The memory may store instructions that when executed by the atleast one processor configure the apparatus to identify one or moreelements shared by a first UI and a second UI. The memory may furtherstore instructions that when executed by the at least one processorconfigure the apparatus to communicate the one or more elements sharedby the first UI and the second UI to a first device associated with thefirst UI and a second device associated with the second UI. In someembodiments, the one or more elements shared by the first UI and thesecond UI may be communicated to the first device and the second devicevia a common data stream. The common data stream may comprise multipleconstituent data streams. A first of the constituent data streams maycomprise the one or more elements shared by the first UI and the secondUI. A second of the constituent data streams may comprise one or moreelements of the first UI that distinguish the first UI from the secondUI. A third of the constituent data streams may comprise one or moreelements of the second UI that distinguish the second UI from the firstUI.

This summary is not intended to identify critical or essential featuresof the disclosure, but merely to summarize certain features andvariations thereof. Other details and features will also be described inthe sections that follow.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Some features herein are illustrated by way of example, and not by wayof limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in whichlike reference numerals refer to similar elements, and in which:

FIG. 1 depicts an illustrative network environment in which one or moreaspects of the disclosure may be implemented;

FIG. 2 depicts an illustrative software and hardware device on whichvarious aspects of the disclosure may be implemented;

FIG. 3 depicts an illustrative network environment for employing systemsand methods in accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosure;

FIG. 4 depicts illustrative images in accordance with one or moreaspects of the disclosure;

FIGS. 5A and 5B depict an illustrative sequence in accordance with oneor more aspects of the disclosure;

FIGS. 6A and 6B depict an additional illustrative sequence in accordancewith one or more aspects of the disclosure; and

FIGS. 7A and 7B depict an illustrative method in accordance with one ormore aspects of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates an example information distribution network 100 inwhich one or more of the various features described herein may beimplemented. The illustrated information distribution network is onlyone example of a network and is not intended to suggest any limitationas to the scope of use or functionality of the disclosure. Theillustrated network should not be interpreted as having any dependencyor requirement relating to any component or combination of components inan information distribution network.

Network 100 may be a telecommunications network, a Multi-ServiceOperator (MSO) network, a cable television (CATV) network, a cellularnetwork, a wireless network, an optical fiber network, a coaxial cablenetwork, a Hybrid Fiber-Coaxial (HFC) network, or any other type ofinformation distribution network or combination of networks. Forexample, network 100 may be a cellular broadband network communicatingwith multiple communications access points, such as wirelesscommunications tower 130. In another example, network 100 may be acoaxial system comprising a Cable Modem Termination System (CMTS)communicating with numerous gateway interface devices (e.g., gatewayinterface device 111 in example home 102 a). In another example, thenetwork 100 may be a fiber-optic system comprising optical fibersextending from an Optical Line Terminal (OLT) to numerous OpticalNetwork Terminals (ONTs) communicatively coupled with various gatewayinterface devices. In another example, the network 100 may be a DigitalSubscriber Line (DSL) system that includes local office 103communicating with numerous gateway interface devices. In anotherexample, network 100 may be an HFC network in which Internet traffic isrouted over both optical and coaxial communication paths to a gatewayinterface device in or near a user's home. Various aspects of thedisclosure may operate on one or more of the networks described hereinor any other network architectures now known or later developed.

Network 100 may use a series of interconnected communication links 101(e.g., coaxial cables, optical fibers, wireless links, etc.) to connectpremises such as homes 102 or other user environments to local office103. Communication links 101 may include any wired communication links,wireless communication links, communications networks, or combinationsthereof. For example, portions of communication links 101 may beimplemented with fiber-optic cable, while other portions ofcommunication links 101 may be implemented with coaxial cable.Communication links 101 may also include various communicationscomponents such as splitters, filters, amplifiers, wireless components,and other components for communicating data. Data may include, forexample, Internet data, voice data, weather data, media content, and anyother information. Media content may include, for example, videocontent, audio content, media on demand, video on demand, streamingvideo, television programs, text listings, graphics, advertisements, andother content. A media content item may represent an individual piece ofmedia content, such as a particular movie, television episode, onlinevideo clip, song, audio recording, image, or any other data. In someinstances, a media content item may be fragmented into segments, such asa plurality of two-second video fragments that may be separatelyaddressed and retrieved.

Local office 103 may transmit downstream information signals ontocommunication links 101, and premises such as home 102 may receive andprocess those signals. In certain implementations, communication links101 may originate from local office 103 as a single communications path,and may be split into any number of communication links to distributedata to homes 102 and various other destinations. Although the term homeis used by way of example, homes 102 may include any type of userenvironment, such as single family homes, apartment complexes,businesses, schools, hospitals, parks, and other environments andcombinations of environments.

Local office 103 may include interface 104, which may be a computingdevice configured to manage communications between devices on thenetwork of communication links 101 and backend devices, such as server105, server 106, and server 107. For example, interface 104 may be aCMTS. The termination system may be as specified in a standard, such as,in an example of an HFC-type network, the Data Over Cable ServiceInterface Specification (DOCSIS) standard, published by Cable TelevisionLaboratories, Inc. The termination system may be configured to transmitdata over one or more downstream channels or frequencies to be receivedby various devices, such as modems in homes 102, and to receive upstreamcommunications from those modems on one or more upstream frequencies.

Local office 103 may include one or more network interfaces 108 forcommunicating with one or more external networks 109. One or moreexternal networks 109 may include, for example, one or moretelecommunications networks, Internet Protocol (IP) networks, cellularcommunications networks (e.g., Global System for Mobile Communications(GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), and any other 2nd, 3rd,4th, or higher generation cellular communications networks), cellularbroadband networks, radio access networks, fiber-optic networks, localwireless networks (e.g., Wi-Fi, WiMAX), satellite networks, and anyother networks or combinations of networks.

Local office 103 may include a variety of servers that may be configuredto perform various functions. Local office 103 may include one or morepush servers 105 for generating push notifications to deliver data,instructions, or both to devices that are configured to detect suchnotifications. Local office 103 may include one or more content servers106 configured to provide content (e.g., media content) to devices.Local office 103 may include one or more application servers 107.

Homes 102 such as home 102a may include an interface 120, which mayinclude device 110, for communicating on communication links 101 withlocal office 103, one or more external networks 109, or both. Forexample, device 110 may be a coaxial cable modem (for coaxial cablelinks 101), a broadband modem (for DSL links 101), a fiber interfacenode (for fiber-optic links 101), or any other device or combination ofdevices. In certain implementations, device 110 may be a part of, orcommunicatively coupled to, gateway interface device 111. Gateway 111may be, for example, a wireless router, a set-top box, a computerserver, or any other computing device or combination.

Gateway interface device 111 may be any computing device forcommunicating with device 110 to allow one or more other devices inexample home 102 a to communicate with local office 103, one or moreexternal networks 109, or other devices communicatively coupled thereto.Gateway 111 may include local network interfaces to providecommunication signals to client devices in or near example home 102 a,such as television 112, set-top box 113, personal computer 114, laptopcomputer 115, wireless device 116 (e.g., a wireless laptop, a tabletcomputer, a mobile phone, a portable gaming device), vehicular computingsystem 117 (e.g., a mobile computing system, navigation system, orentertainment system in an automobile, marine vessel, or aircraft) andany other device.

FIG. 2 illustrates general hardware elements and software elements thatcan be used to implement any of the various computing devices and/orsoftware discussed herein. Device 200 may include one or more processors201, which may execute instructions of a computer program to perform anyof the functions and steps described herein. The instructions may bestored in any type of computer-readable medium or memory to configurethe operation of the processor 201. For example, instructions may bestored in a Read-Only Memory (ROM) 202, Random Access Memory (RAM) 203,removable media 204, such as a Universal Serial Bus (USB) drive, CompactDisk (CD) or Digital Versatile Disk (DVD), hard drive, floppy diskdrive, or any other desired electronic storage medium. Instructions mayalso be stored in hard drive 205, which may be an internal or externalhard drive.

Device 200 may include one or more output devices, such as a display206, such as an external monitor or television, and may include one ormore output device controllers 207, such as a video processor. In someembodiments, device 200 may include one or more user input devices 208,such as a remote control, keyboard, mouse, touch screen, microphone, orany other input device.

Device 200 may also include one or more network interfaces, such asnetwork Input/Output (I/O) interface 210 to communicate with an externalnetwork 209. The network interface may be a wired interface, wirelessinterface, or a combination of the two. In some embodiments, network I/Ointerface 210 may include a cable modem, and network 209 may include thecommunication links 101 shown in FIG. 1, one or more external networks109, an in-home network, a provider's wireless, coaxial, fiber, orhybrid fiber/coaxial distribution system (e.g., a DOCSIS network), orany other desired network.

FIG. 3 depicts an illustrative network environment for employing systemsand methods in accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosure.Referring to FIG. 3, network environment 300 may include one or moreuser devices. For example, network environment 300 may include userdevices 302 and 304. User devices 302 and 304 may be any deviceconfigured to render an image or video for display (e.g., a television,set-top box, digital video recorder, desktop computer, laptop computer,tablet computer, smart phone, etc.). For example, user device 302 may bea tablet computer, and user device 304 may be a set-top box, which maybe associated with television 306. User device 302 and/or user device304 may be configured to receive one or more data streams containingvideo or images for display. For example, user device 302 and/or userdevice 304 may receive one or more data streams via network 308. Datastreams communicated to user device 302 and/or user device 304 mayinclude one or more images and/or video, which user device 302 and/oruser device 304 may render for display. For example, UI server 310 maybe part of a networked digital video recorder (nDVR) service, and mayprovide program listing screens and recording interface screens to userswho wish to peruse program listings and select programs for remoterecording. The screens shown to these users may be generated by the UIserver 310, and for a large group of users, many of their respectivescreens may have redundant images with one another. For example, acommon advertisement or onscreen graphic may appear across a largenumber of the screens that the users are viewing. As will be discussedin greater detail below, network environment 300 may also include imagedelivery server 312. Any of user device 302, user device 304, UI server310, and/or image delivery server 312 may include one or more hardwareand/or software elements for implementing one or more of the functionsdescribed herein. For example, user device 302, user device 304, UIserver 310, and/or image delivery server 312 may include one or more ofthe hardware and/or software elements discussed above with respect toFIG. 2.

Image delivery server 312 may be configured to compare the visualelements of a plurality of screen images that are needed by its users,and identify one or more common elements from those screen images. Forexample, the screen images may both be a program listing and recordingscreen for the nDVR service, and image delivery server 312 may beconfigured to identify one or more common elements of the UI that are tobe displayed by both user device 302 and user device 304. Image deliveryserver 312 may also be configured to identify one or moredifferentiating elements of the images, or visual elements that areunique to respective user devices (or at least are not in common betweenthe devices—they may well be in common with other devices). For example,the two users may both be viewing the program listing screen for thenDVR service, and may see the same page heading, banner advertisementand grid background, but they may differ in the actual listings beingviewed. One user may be looking at channels 5-20, while another user maybe looking at the listings for channels 20-35. The differentiatingelements here may be the different channel listings (e.g., the channel5-20 listing for one user, and the channel 20-35 listing for the other),while the common elements may be the heading, background and grid.

Image delivery server 312 may further be configured to generate a firstdata stream comprising the identified one or more common elements of theimages (e.g., the page header, banner advertisement and grid backgroundmentioned above), and one or more additional data streams containing thevisual elements that were unique to the user devices. For example, bothdevices 302 and 304 may receive the first stream with the commonelements, and each device may receive a separate, custom, streamcontaining the elements that are unique to their respective displays.Using the example above, the first device may receive a second streamcontaining the listings for channels 5-20, and the second device mayreceive a stream containing the listings for channels 20-35.

FIG. 4 depicts illustrative images in accordance with one or moreaspects of the disclosure. Referring to FIG. 4, images 402 and 404 mayinclude one or more common elements and/or one or more differentiatingelements. For example, image 402 may comprise a UI for user device 302,and image 404 may comprise a UI for user device 304.

As indicated above, images 402 and 404 may include one or more commonelements. A common element may be an element shared by both image 402and image 404. For example, image 402 may include one or more of abackground image, a component image, a logo, and/or a border that isalso included in image 404. For example, image 402's background image406 may correspond to image 404's background image 408; image 402'scomponent images 410 and 412 may respectively correspond to image 404'scomponent images 414 and 416; image 402's logo 418 may correspond toimage 404's logo 420; and/or image 402's border 422 may correspond toimage 404's border 424.

Images 402 and 404 may also include one or more differentiatingelements. A differentiating element may be an element of image 402 thatdistinguishes image 402 from image 404 and/or an element of image 404that distinguishes image 404 from image 402. In other words, elementsthat are not in common between the two. For example, image 402's UI foruser device 302 may include a program listing, which may contain one ormore elements that are different from the program listing shown ondevice 304. For example, one or more of image 402's menu title element426, grid element 428, grid element 430, grid element 432, grid element434, grid element 436, and/or grid element 438 may respectively differfrom one or more of image 404's menu title element 440, grid element442, grid element 444, grid element 446, grid element 448, grid element450, and/or grid element 452, and thus may distinguish or differentiateimage 402 from image 404, or vice versa.

FIGS. 5A and 5B depict an illustrative sequence in accordance with oneor more aspects of the disclosure. Referring to FIG. 5A, at step 1, userdevice 302 may communicate a UI request to UI server 310. At step 2,user device 304 may communicate a UI request to UI server 310. At step3, UI server 310 may generate an image comprising a UI for user device302. For example, UI server 310 may generate image 402. At step 4, UIserver 310 may generate an image comprising a UI for user device 304.For example, UI server 310 may generate image 404. At step 5, UI server310 may generate a data stream comprising image 402 and may communicatethe data stream to image delivery server 312. At step 6, UI server 310may generate a data stream comprising image 404 and may communicate thedata stream to image delivery server 312.

Referring to FIG. 5B, at step 7, image delivery server 312 may identifyone or more common elements of images 402 and 404. For example, imagedelivery server 312 may compare images 402 and 404 and may determinethat image 402's background image 406 is the same as image 404'sbackground image 408, that image 402's component images 410 and 412respectively correspond to image 404's component images 414 and 416,that image 402's logo 418 corresponds to image 404's logo 420, and thatimage 402's border 422 corresponds to image 404's border 424. At step 8,image delivery server 312 may identify one or more differentiatingelements of images 402 and 404. For example, image delivery server 312may compare images 402 and 404 and may determine that image 402's menutitle element 426, grid element 428, grid element 430, grid element 432,grid element 434, grid element 436, and grid element 438 respectivelydiffer from image 404's menu title element 440, grid element 442, gridelement 444, grid element 446, grid element 448, grid element 450, andgrid element 452.

At step 9, image delivery server 312 may generate one or more datatransmissions. For example, image delivery server 312 may generate afirst data stream comprising the identified one or more common elementsof images 402 and 404 (e.g., a data stream comprising: image 402'sbackground image 406, corresponding to image 404's background image 408;image 402's component images 410 and 412, respectively corresponding toimage 404's component images 414 and 416; image 402's logo 418,corresponding to image 404's logo 420; and image 402's border 422,corresponding to image 404's border 424). Image delivery server 312 mayalso generate a second data stream comprising a portion of theidentified differentiating elements of images 402 and 404 associatedwith user device 302 (e.g., one or more elements of image 402 thatdistinguish image 402 from image 404). For example, image deliveryserver 312 may generate a data stream comprising image 402's menu titleelement 426, grid element 428, grid element 430, grid element 432, gridelement 434, grid element 436, and grid element 438. Image deliveryserver 312 may further generate a third data stream comprising a portionof the identified differentiating elements of images 402 and 404associated with user device 304 (e.g., one or more elements of image 404that distinguish image 404 from image 402). For example, image deliveryserver 312 may generate a data stream comprising image 404's menu titleelement 440, grid element 442, grid element 444, grid element 446, gridelement 448, grid element 450, and grid element 452.

At step 10, image delivery server 312 may communicate, via network 308,the first data stream to user devices 302 and 304, the second datastream to user device 302, and the third data stream to user device 304.In some embodiments, the first data stream, second data stream, andthird data stream may be multiplexed into a single data stream. Forexample, the first, second, and third data streams may be multiplexedinto a single MPEG-TS. For example, the first data stream comprising theidentified one or more common elements of images 402 and 404, the seconddata stream comprising the portion of the identified differentiatingelements of images 402 and 404 associated with user device 302, and thethird data stream comprising the portion of the identifieddifferentiating elements of images 402 and 404 associated with userdevice 304 may be multiplexed into MPEG-TS 500, which may comprise:elementary stream 502, corresponding to the first data stream comprisingthe identified one or more common elements of images 402 and 404;elementary stream 504, corresponding to the second data streamcomprising the portion of the identified differentiating elements ofimages 402 and 404 associated with user device 302; and elementarystream 506, corresponding to the third data stream comprising theportion of the identified differentiating elements of images 402 and 404associated with user device 304.

In some embodiments, MPEG-TS 500 may include a PMT. The PMT may includeone or more PIDs, each of which may be associated with an elementarystream of MPEG-TS 500. For example, the PMT may include a PID associatedwith each of elementary streams 502, 504, and 506. In some embodiments,one or more PIDs included in the PMT may comprise one or more of anaccount identifier, an IP address, and/or a MAC address associated witha device that is associated with the corresponding elementary stream.For example, a PID corresponding to elementary stream 502 may comprisean account identifier, an IP address, and/or a MAC address associatedwith user device 302, and an account identifier, an IP address, and/or aMAC address associated with user device 304. Similarly, a PIDcorresponding to elementary stream 504 may comprise an accountidentifier, an IP address, and/or a MAC address associated with userdevice 302, and a PID corresponding to elementary stream 506 maycomprise an account identifier, an IP address, and/or a MAC addressassociated with user device 304.

In some embodiments MPEG-TS 500 may include control information in theform of vendor proprietary messaging where one or more messages indicatePIDs that the device should acquire in order to render the UI. Forexample, a message may be sent to user device 302 indicating thatelementary stream 502 contains a primary video/UI element and thatelementary stream 504 contains one or more secondary video/UI elements.In some embodiments, the PMT may have identifiers associated with eachPID that allow the device to select applicable PIDs. For example, thePMT may contain a well-known identifier associated with a streamcomprising common elements (e.g., a value of ‘0’), indicating to alldevices that such a stream comprises common elements to be acquired forUI presentation. The PMT may also include one or more identifiers uniqueto each device. For example, the PMT may include an identifierassociated with elementary stream 504 that indicates that it is intendedfor user device 302. The identifier may be encapsulated usingdescriptors and/or other MPEG constructs. When common elements change,user devices 302/304 may receive new messaging and/or identifierspointing to new UI/video streams. At the encoder end, UI server 310and/or image delivery server 312 may detect changes and if there is nocommon UI data, may create a unique stream specific to a user device andvia the messaging protocols, inform the user device of the change.

In some embodiments, the first data stream, second data stream, andthird data stream may be multiplexed into multiple data streams (notillustrated). For example, the first data stream and the second datastream may be multiplexed into a first multiplexed data stream, and thefirst data stream and the third data stream may be multiplexed into asecond multiplexed data stream. For example, the first data streamcomprising the identified one or more common elements of images 402 and404, and the second data stream comprising the portion of the identifieddifferentiating elements of images 402 and 404 associated with userdevice 302 may be multiplexed into a first multiplexed data stream,which may be communicated to user device 302; and the first data streamcomprising the identified one or more common elements of images 402 and404, and the third data stream comprising the portion of the identifieddifferentiating elements of images 402 and 404 associated with userdevice 304 may be multiplexed into a second multiplexed data stream,which may be communicated to user device 304.

User device 302 may receive the first data stream and the second datastream and, at step 11, may render an image comprising the identifiedone or more common elements of images 402 and 404 (e.g., image 402'sbackground image 406, image 402's component images 410 and 412, image402's logo 418, and image 402's border 422), and the identifieddifferentiating elements of images 402 and 404 associated with userdevice 302 (e.g., image 402's menu title element 426, grid element 428,grid element 430, grid element 432, grid element 434, grid element 436,and grid element 438). For example, user device 302 may receive andde-multiplex MPEG-TS 500. Having de-multiplexed, MPEG-TS 500, userdevice 302 may identity elementary stream 502 as comprising theidentified one or more common elements of images 402 and 404 (e.g.,based on the PID associated with elementary stream 502 and one or moreof an account identifier, an IP address, and/or a MAC address associatedwith user device 302) and may identity elementary stream 504 ascomprising the identified differentiating elements of images 402 and 404associated with user device 302 (e.g., based on the PID associated withelementary stream 504 and one or more of an account identifier, an IPaddress, and/or a MAC address associated with user device 302). Userdevice 302 may then render the image comprising the identified one ormore common elements of images 402 and 404, and the identifieddifferentiating elements of images 402 and 404 associated with userdevice 302 by combining elementary streams 502 and 504. It will beappreciated, that the image rendered by user device 302 willsubstantially correspond to image 402.

Similarly, user device 304 may receive the first data stream and thesecond data stream and, at step 12, may render an image comprising theidentified one or more common elements of images 402 and 404 (e.g.,image 402's background image 406, corresponding to image 404'sbackground image 408; image 402's component images 410 and 412,respectively corresponding to image 404's component images 414 and 416;image 402's logo 418, corresponding to image 404's logo 420; and image402's border 422, corresponding to image 404's border 424), and theidentified differentiating elements of images 402 and 404 associatedwith user device 304 (e.g., image 404's menu title element 440, gridelement 442, grid element 444, grid element 446, grid element 448, gridelement 450, and grid element 452). For example, user device 304 mayreceive and de-multiplex MPEG-TS 500. Having de-multiplexed, MPEG-TS500, user device 304 may identity elementary stream 502 as comprisingthe identified one or more common elements of images 402 and 404 (e.g.,based on the PID associated with elementary stream 502 and one or moreof an account identifier, an IP address, and/or a MAC address associatedwith user device 304) and may identity elementary stream 506 ascomprising the identified differentiating elements of images 402 and 404associated with user device 304 (e.g., based on the PID associated withelementary stream 506 and one or more of an account identifier, an IPaddress, and/or a MAC address associated with user device 304). Userdevice 304 may then render the image comprising the identified one ormore common elements of images 402 and 404, and the identifieddifferentiating elements of images 402 and 404 associated with userdevice 304 by combining elementary streams 502 and 506. It will beappreciated, that the image rendered by user device 304 willsubstantially correspond to image 404.

By identifying one or more common elements of images 402 and 404 (e.g.,image 402's background image 406, corresponding to image 404'sbackground image 408; image 402's component images 410 and 412,respectively corresponding to image 404's component images 414 and 416;image 402's logo 418, corresponding to image 404's logo 420; and image402's border 422, corresponding to image 404's border 424) andcommunicating the one or more common elements of images 402 and 404 viaa single data stream (e.g., MPEG-TS 500's elementary stream 502), imagedelivery server 312 may optimize the delivery of images 402 and 404 touser devices 302 and 304, respectively. Communicating the one or morecommon elements of images 402 and 404 via the single data stream versusredundantly communicating the one or more common elements of images 402and 404 via their own respective data streams may reduce demand onnetwork 308's resources (e.g., bandwidth). As the number of imagesand/or the number of common elements shared by the images increases, thedemand on network 308's resources may be reduced by correspondinglygreater amounts by communicating the one or more common elements of theimages via a single data stream versus redundantly communicating the oneor more common elements of the images via their own respective datastreams.

In the embodiment above, different streams are described fortransmitting the common and the unique/distinguishing elements for thedifferent images. In some embodiments, the nature of motion-based videoencoding can be modified and used advantageously in conveying thesestreams. Motion-based video encoding may involve using independentframes, or I-frames, which contain sufficient information to generate acomplete frame of image data, and dependent frames, such as P- andB-frames, which do not contain sufficient information to generate acomplete frame of image data, and instead rely on a correspondingI-frame to fill in the details for the complete frame. In general terms,a P-frame may contain information identifying the differences between acurrent frame in a video and a prior frame. In some embodiments, a firststream may use independent frames to convey the common images, and relyon two streams of different dependent frames to convey the differentimages. FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate an example of this alternativeapproach.

FIGS. 6A and 6B depict an additional illustrative sequence in accordancewith one or more aspects of the disclosure. Referring to FIG. 6A, steps1-6 may correspond to steps 1-6, described above with respect to FIG.5A. Referring to FIG. 6B, steps 7-9 may correspond to steps 7-9,described above with respect to FIG. 5B. At step 10, image deliveryserver 312 may communicate, via network 308, the first data stream touser devices 302 and 304, the second data stream to user device 302, andthe third data stream to user device 304. In some embodiments, the firstdata stream, second data stream, and third data stream may be convertedinto one or more series of frames and one or more of the frame seriesmay be communicated to user devices 302 and 304. For example, the firstdata stream comprising the identified one or more common elements ofimages 402 and 404 may be converted into I-frame 600, the second datastream comprising the portion of the identified differentiating elementsof images 402 and 404 associated with user device 302 may be convertedinto P/B-frame 602, and the third data stream comprising the portion ofthe identified differentiating elements of images 402 and 404 associatedwith user device 304 may be converted into P/B-frame 604. I-frame 600may specify the identified one or more common elements of images 402 and404. P/B-frame 602 may specify how I-frame 600 should be modified toreflect the identified differentiating elements of images 402 and 404associated with user device 302. P/B-frame 604 may specify how I-frame600 should be modified to reflect the identified differentiatingelements of images 402 and 404 associated with user device 304.

User device 302 may receive the first data stream and the second datastream and, at step 11, may render an image comprising the identifiedone or more common elements of images 402 and 404 (e.g., image 402'sbackground image 406, image 402's component images 410 and 412, image402's logo 418, and image 402's border 422), and the identifieddifferentiating elements of images 402 and 404 associated with userdevice 302 (e.g., image 402's menu title element 426, grid element 428,grid element 430, grid element 432, grid element 434, grid element 436,and grid element 438). For example, user device 302 may receive I-frame600 and P/B-frame 602, and may render an image specified by I-frame 600and then modify the image as specified by P/B-frame 602. It will beappreciated, that the image rendered by user device 302 willsubstantially correspond to image 402.

Similarly, user device 304 may receive the first data stream and thesecond data stream and, at step 12, may render an image comprising theidentified one or more common elements of images 402 and 404 (e.g.,image 402's background image 406, corresponding to image 404'sbackground image 408; image 402's component images 410 and 412,respectively corresponding to image 404's component images 414 and 416;image 402's logo 418, corresponding to image 404's logo 420; and image402's border 422, corresponding to image 404's border 424), and theidentified differentiating elements of images 402 and 404 associatedwith user device 304 (e.g., image 404's menu title element 440, gridelement 442, grid element 444, grid element 446, grid element 448, gridelement 450, and grid element 452). For example, user device 302 mayreceive I-frame 600 and P/B-frame 604, and may render an image specifiedby I-frame 600 and then modify the image as specified by P/B-frame 604.It will be appreciated, that the image rendered by user device 304 willsubstantially correspond to image 404.

As indicated above with respect to FIGS. 5A and 5B, by identifying oneor more common elements of images 402 and 404 (e.g., image 402'sbackground image 406, corresponding to image 404's background image 408;image 402's component images 410 and 412, respectively corresponding toimage 404's component images 414 and 416; image 402's logo 418,corresponding to image 404's logo 420; and image 402's border 422,corresponding to image 404's border 424) and communicating the one ormore common elements of images 402 and 404 via a single data stream(e.g., a data stream that includes I-frame 600), image delivery server312 may optimize the delivery of images 402 and 404 to user devices 302and 304, respectively. It will also be appreciated that communicatingthe one or more common elements of images 402 and 404 via the singledata stream versus redundantly communicating the one or more commonelements of images 402 and 404 via their own respective data streams mayreduce demand on network 308's resources (e.g., bandwidth). It willfurther be appreciated, that as the number of images and/or the numberof common elements shared by the images increases, the demand on network308's resources may be reduced by correspondingly greater amounts bycommunicating the one or more common elements of the images via a singledata stream versus redundantly communicating the one or more commonelements of the images via their own respective data streams.

It will be appreciated that the functions and steps described herein arenot only applicable to images that comprise UIs, but may be applied toany type of images (e.g., pictures, video) that contain one or morecommon elements and/or redundancies.

FIGS. 7A and 7B depict an illustrative method in accordance with one ormore aspects of the disclosure. Referring to FIG. 7A, at step 700, oneor more common elements of a plurality of images may be identified. Forexample, image delivery server 312 may compare images 402 and 404 andmay determine that image 402's background image 406 corresponds to image404's background image 408, that image 402's component images 410 and412 respectively correspond to image 404's component images 414 and 416,that image 402's logo 418 corresponds to image 404's logo 420, and thatimage 402's border 422 corresponds to image 404's border 424. At step702, a determination may be made as to whether the identified one ormore common elements of the plurality of images comprise a thresholdproportion of the plurality of images. In some embodiments, thethreshold proportion may be based on the total number of the pluralityof images. For example, a threshold may indicate that 80% of the imagesappearing in two displays must be common before the system will botherwith generating the streams to carry the common and unique elementsseparately. If two displays have less than 80% images in common, thenthe system can simply transmit the displays, in their entirety, usingtwo separate streams. The threshold may be measured based on pixel count(e.g., 80% of the pixels between two displays), or on image object count(e.g., 80% of the graphical objects, such as buttons, lines, shapes,logos, etc., regardless of the actual pixel size), or by any otherdesired measure. Responsive to determining that the identified one ormore common elements of the plurality of images do not comprise thethreshold proportion of the plurality of images, at step 704, theplurality of images may be communicated via their own dedicated datatransmissions. For example, responsive to determining that theidentified one or more common elements of the plurality of images do notcomprise the threshold proportion of the plurality of images, theplurality of images may be communicated via their own dedicated datatransmissions.

Returning to step 702, responsive to determining that the identified oneor more common elements of the plurality of images do comprise thethreshold proportion of the plurality of images, at step 706, one ormore differentiating elements of the plurality of images may beidentified. For example, responsive to determining that the identifiedone or more common elements of images 402 and 404 do comprise thethreshold proportion of the plurality of images, image delivery server312 may identify one or more differentiating elements of images 402 and404. For example, image delivery server 312 may compare images 402 and404 and may determine that image 402's menu title element 426, gridelement 428, grid element 430, grid element 432, grid element 434, gridelement 436, and grid element 438 respectively differ from image 404'smenu title element 440, grid element 442, grid element 444, grid element446, grid element 448, grid element 450, and grid element 452. At step708, a first data stream comprising the identified one or more commonelements may be generated. For example, image delivery server 312 maygenerate a first data stream comprising the identified one or morecommon elements of images 402 and 404. At step 710, a second data streamcomprising a portion of the differentiating elements associated with afirst device may be generated. For example, image delivery server 312may generate a second data stream comprising a portion of the identifieddifferentiating elements of images 402 and 404 associated with userdevice 302. At step 712, a third data stream comprising a portion of thedifferentiating elements associated with a second device may begenerated. For example, image delivery server 312 may generate a thirddata stream comprising a portion of the identified differentiatingelements of images 402 and 404 associated with user device 304.

Referring to FIG. 7B, at step 714, the first data stream and the seconddata stream may be received by the first device. For example, userdevice 302 may receive the first data stream comprising the identifiedone or more common elements of images 402 and 404, and the second datastream comprising the portion of the identified differentiating elementsof images 402 and 404 associated with user device 302. At step 716, thefirst device may render an image comprising the one or more commonelements and the one or more differentiating elements associated withthe first device. For example, user device 302 may render an imagecomprising the identified one or more common elements of images 402 and404, and the portion of the identified differentiating elements ofimages 402 and 404 associated with user device 302. At step 718, thefirst data stream and the third data stream may be received by thesecond device. For example, user device 304 may receive the first datastream comprising the identified one or more common elements of images402 and 404, and the third data stream comprising the portion of theidentified differentiating elements of images 402 and 404 associatedwith user device 304. At step 720, the second device may render an imagecomprising the one or more common elements and the one or moredifferentiating elements associated with the second device. For example,user device 304 may render an image comprising the identified one ormore common elements of images 402 and 404, and the portion of theidentified differentiating elements of images 402 and 404 associatedwith user device 304.

The methods and features recited herein may be implemented through anynumber of computer readable media that are able to store computerreadable instructions. Examples of computer readable media that may beused include RAM, ROM, Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-OnlyMemory (EEPROM), flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, DVD,or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape,magnetic storage, and the like.

Additionally or alternatively, in at least some embodiments, the methodsand features recited herein may be implemented through one or moreIntegrated Circuits (ICs). An IC may, for example, be a microprocessorthat accesses programming instructions or other data stored in a ROM. Insome embodiments, a ROM may store program instructions that cause an ICto perform operations according to one or more of the methods describedherein. In some embodiments, one or more of the methods described hereinmay be hardwired into an IC. For example, an IC may comprise anApplication Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) having gates and/or otherlogic dedicated to the calculations and other operations describedherein. In still other embodiments, an IC may perform some operationsbased on execution of programming instructions read from ROM or RAM,with other operations hardwired into gates or other logic. Further, anIC may be configured to output image data to a display buffer.

Although specific examples of carrying out the disclosure have beendescribed, those skilled in the art will appreciate that there arenumerous variations and permutations of the above-described apparatusesand methods that are contained within the spirit and scope of thedisclosure as set forth in the appended claims. Additionally, numerousother embodiments, modifications, and variations within the scope andspirit of the appended claims may occur to persons of ordinary skill inthe art from a review of this disclosure. Specifically, any of thefeatures described herein may be combined with any or all of the otherfeatures described herein.

The various features described above are merely nonlimiting examples,and can be rearranged, combined, subdivided, omitted, and/or altered inany desired manner. For example, features of the servers can besubdivided among multiple processors and computing devices. The truescope of this patent should only be defined by the claims that follow.

1. A method comprising: receiving, by a networked digital videorecorder, a first request for a first video item for a first userdevice; receiving, by the networked digital video recorder, a secondrequest for a second video item for a second user device; determining,by the networked digital video recorder and based on comparing the firstvideo item with the second video item: one or more common user interfaceelements common to the first video item and the second video item, firstadditional graphical elements for the first video item, and secondadditional graphical elements for the second video item; sending, by thenetworked digital video recorder, based on the determining, and to thefirst user device via a first data stream, the first additionalgraphical elements; sending, by the networked digital video recorder,based on the determining, and to the second user device via a seconddata stream, the second additional graphical elements; and sending, bythe networked digital video recorder, based on the determining, to thefirst user device, to the second user device, and via a third datastream, the one or more common user interface elements.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the sending the one or more common user interfaceelements is based on: determining that a ratio of a quantity of the oneor more common user interface elements to a total quantity of elementsof the first video item and the second video item satisfies a threshold.3. The method of claim 2, wherein the threshold is based on: determininga first pixel count for the one or more common user interface elements;determining a total pixel count for the first video item and the secondvideo item; and comparing the first pixel count to the total pixelcount.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining thatthe first video item is associated with a program guide listing; anddetermining, based on the program guide listing, that the firstadditional graphical elements comprise a first portion of the programguide listing.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first data stream,the second data stream, and the third data stream each compriseelementary streams of a Moving Picture Experts Group Transport Stream(MPEG-TS), wherein the MPEG-TS comprises: a first program map table(PMT) identifying the first data stream; a second PMT identifying thesecond data stream; and a third PMT identifying the third data stream.6. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining that the oneor more common user interface elements comprise one or more of abackground image, a border, or a logo; and converting the one or morecommon user interface elements into one or more I-frames.
 7. The methodof claim 6, further comprising: determining that the first additionalgraphical elements comprise a social media service listing.
 8. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the first user device comprises a mobiledevice, and wherein the second user device comprises a set-top box.
 9. Amethod comprising: determining, by a computing device and based oncomparing a plurality of first graphics for a mobile device with aplurality of second graphics for a client device: one or more commonuser interface elements common to the plurality of first graphics andthe plurality of second graphics, first additional graphical elementsfor the plurality of first graphics, and second additional graphicalelements for the plurality of second graphics; sending, by the computingdevice based on the determining, and to the mobile device via a firstdata stream, the first additional graphical elements; sending, by thecomputing device, based on the determining, and to the client device viaa second data stream, the second additional graphical elements; andsending, by the computing device, based on the determining, to themobile device, to the client device, and via a third data stream, theone or more common user interface elements.
 10. The method of claim 9,wherein the sending the one or more common user interface elements isbased on: determining that a ratio of a quantity of the one or morecommon user interface elements to a total quantity of elements of theplurality of first graphics and the plurality of second graphicssatisfies a threshold.
 11. The method of claim 9, further comprising:determining that the plurality of first graphics are associated with aprogram guide listing; and determining, based on the program guidelisting, that the first additional graphical elements comprise a firstportion of the program guide listing.
 12. The method of claim 9, whereinthe first data stream, the second data stream, and the third data streameach comprise elementary streams of a Moving Picture Experts GroupTransport Stream (MPEG-TS), wherein the MPEG-TS comprises: a firstprogram map table (PMT) identifying the first data stream; a second PMTidentifying the second data stream; and a third PMT identifying thethird data stream.
 13. The method of claim 9, further comprising:determining that the one or more common user interface elements compriseone or more of a background image, a border, or a logo; and convertingthe one or more common user interface elements into one or moreI-frames.
 14. The method of claim 9, further comprising: determiningthat the first additional graphical elements comprise a social mediaservice listing.
 15. The method of claim 9, wherein the computing devicecomprises a user interface (UI) server.
 16. The method of claim 9,wherein the computing device comprises a networked digital videorecorder, and wherein the client device comprises a set-top box.
 17. Amethod comprising: determining, by a user interface (UI) server, andbased on: receiving, from a first device, a first request for a firstcontent item, and receiving, from a second device, a second request fora second content item, the following: one or more common elements thatare common to the first content item and the second content item; one ormore first differentiating elements that are present in the firstcontent item and differentiate from the second content item; and one ormore second differentiating elements that are present in the secondcontent item and differentiate from the first content item; sending, bythe UI server, to the first device, and to the second device, a firstdata stream comprising the one or more common elements; sending, by theUI server and to the first device, a second data stream comprising theone or more first differentiating elements; and sending, by the UIserver and to the second device, a third data stream comprising the oneor more second differentiating elements.
 18. The method of claim 17,wherein the sending the first data stream is based on: determining thata ratio of a quantity of the one or more common elements to a totalquantity of elements of: the one or more first differentiating elements,and the one or more second differentiating elements satisfies athreshold.
 19. The method of claim 17, comprising: determining that thefirst content item is associated with a program guide listing; anddetermining, based on the program guide listing, that the one or morefirst differentiating elements comprise a first portion of the programguide listing.
 20. The method of claim 17, wherein the first devicecomprises a mobile device, and wherein the second device comprises aset-top box.